News Release Details

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2004--Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE), and The Capital Times Co. have announced plans to launch a free weekly newspaper and companion website aimed at young adults in Madison.

Jim Hopson, publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal, and Clayton Frink, publisher of The Capital Times, said Core Weekly will debut in late August and will focus on arts and entertainment coverage targeted at adults under 30. They said Core Weekly will operate separately from the two newspapers as another division of Capital Newspapers, which is owned jointly by Lee and The Capital Times Co.

In announcing Core Weekly, they said:

"This new venture... is the result of considerable thinking, planning and market research. We recognized that in Madison, as in every other U.S. market, the daily newspapers were not consistently read by younger adults. We concluded that if the dailies were not the best medium to reach that important audience, perhaps another kind of publication could do the job better....

"To research the market and assess the opportunity here we engaged industry consultant Catherine Nelson. Catherine brought long experience in both daily and alternative weekly publications to the task. She is currently associate publisher of Milwaukee's alternative weekly, Shepherd Express, and has worked as either a consultant or executive with some of the biggest and most successful alternative weeklies in North America. We think she's the best in the business.

"Her thorough research into the Madison market led us to conclude that the right kind of publication could succeed in attracting a large young adult audience and the advertisers who want to reach that audience. We also found that no publication in the Madison market effectively reaches those readers and advertisers now. And to make certain we launch exactly the right kind of publication we hired Catherine to be our publisher in Madison. She will also retain her ties to the Shepherd Express."

Nelson, 53, has worked for daily newspapers and alternative weeklies across the United States and internationally, including in Boston, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz; Portland, Maine; Newport, Rhode Island; New York State, British Columbia, Toronto, Montreal, and Sydney, Australia.

She said key content will include entertainment listings, lifestyle features, music and film reviews and previews. Online content will be "a large component," as well, and may include video features and samples of music reviewed by the newspaper.

She said she already has received more than 600 resumes for a staff of 15 in response to blind advertisements over the past week and a half. "I'm blown away," she said.

Mary Junck, chairman and chief executive officer of Lee Enterprises, said Nelson will help research and analyze the potential for young reader publications in other Lee markets. Meanwhile, she said, "We're looking forward to what we'll learn in Madison."

Lee Enterprises is based in Davenport, Iowa, and is the premier publisher of daily newspapers in midsize markets. Lee Enterprises owns 38 daily newspapers and associated online sites in 19 states and a joint interest in six other newspapers through its partnership with The Capital Times Co. Lee also publishes nearly 200 weekly newspapers, shoppers and classified and specialty publications. Lee stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. More information about Lee Enterprises is available at www.lee.net.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "Safe Harbor" for forward-looking statements. This release contains information that may be deemed forward-looking and that is based largely on the Company's current expectations and is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Among such risks, trends and other uncertainties are changes in advertising demand, newsprint prices, interest rates, labor costs, legislative and regulatory rulings and other results of operations or financial conditions, difficulties in integration of acquired businesses or maintaining employee and customer relationships and increased capital and other costs. The words "may," "will," "would," "could," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "projects," "considers" and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this release. The Company does not publicly undertake to update or revise its forward-looking statements.

    CONTACT: Lee Enterprises, Incorporated
             Dan Hayes, 563-383-2100
             dan.hayes@lee.net

    SOURCE: Lee Enterprises, Incorporated